The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 241,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 66,022 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $2,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WU. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE WU opened at $10.64 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 3.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.84%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Company Profile

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.